Back in the heyday of freestyle BMX (late 1980s and early 1990s) New England had a big riding scene with plenty of great riders. Unfortunately, we were located on the “wrong” coast, far away from the BMX magazines in California. This led me to publish Radazine/Wire ’Zine to cover our riding scene, and later (inspired by the Dorkin’ in York videos) shot and edited some New England scene videos.
They were shot using VHS video cameras (and later on 8mm) and edited together with the technology I had: originally two VCRs hooked up together, but by “Live Wire” I upgraded to using my town’s public access TV station’s equipment. They’re long (the first couple videos could’ve really used a lot more editing) and have some unfortunate music choices, but hey — it was just that era.
I finally got around to putting the oldest of the videos online, as well as creating Apple Music and Spotify playlists if you’re jonesing for some sometimes-questionable video music from that time period. Without further ado, in reverse release order…
Wire: 1989–1995
This is a highlights compilation of the four riding videos I did in those years (with names so you can ID each rider). A much quicker overview of the New England riding scene in those days than watching all four videos individually.
Soundtrack playlists: Apple Music | Spotify
Losers of the Year (1995)
This was the last video I made (not counting the 1989–1995 compilation above). I thought this was a pretty good collection of riding from all over: street riding in Boston, mini ramp at Maul’s, dirt jumping at Pig Pen, and (as usual) plenty of flatland.
Unfortunately the streaming services are missing a bunch of songs, so they’re not on the playlist links. But you can listen to “Lie” by Swiz, “Head Cold” by Goodbye Harry, and “Hedgecore” by Operation Ivy on YouTube. (I can’t seem to find Ne’er-Do-Wells’ cover of “Misirlou” anywhere online).
Soundtrack playlists: Apple Music | Spotify
Live Wire (1993)
My third New England riding video (second Wire video). This time I used Attleboro’s public access TV station’s equipment to edit (done in a single one day/night marathon editing session) instead of two VCRs — high tech!
Soundtrack playlists: Apple Music | Spotify
Buck-Whyrin’ (1991)
VCR-to-VCR editing continues on my second riding video, once again too long and with of-the-time music choices. But it’s still a decent collection of New England riders.
Note: While I included Terminator X’s “Buck-Whylin'” in the playlists below, I actually used the instrumental version (which you can listen to on YouTube) in the video, which unfortunately isn’t available on streaming services.
Soundtrack playlists: Apple Music | Spotify
Documentary: New England – a Radazine film (1989)
My first riding video, focusing on the New England riding scene. Lots of King of Flatland footage, some questionable music choices, and sketchy VCR-to-VCR editing! (But lots of memories.)
Soundtrack playlists: Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube Music